mobile marketing – StartupNationhttps://startupnation.com
Build Your Business. Live Your Dream.™Fri, 09 Dec 2016 15:02:01 +0000en-UShourly1Digital Marketing Trends for 2016 [Infographic]https://startupnation.com/grow-your-business/digital-marketing-trends-infographic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=digital-marketing-trends-infographic
https://startupnation.com/grow-your-business/digital-marketing-trends-infographic/#respondSat, 11 Jun 2016 16:30:49 +0000https://startupnation.com/?p=21600There are many digital marketing trends, but not all suit every small to medium business on the market. The key for small to medium business (SMB) owners is in understanding which trends to follow and implement in order to give their business a positive return on investment. Digital changes can be time consuming and of course expensive...

There are many digital marketing trends, but not all suit every small to medium business on the market. The key for small to medium business (SMB) owners is in understanding which trends to follow and implement in order to give their business a positive return on investment. Digital changes can be time consuming and of course expensive to implement, so it’s important to be cautious.

The infographic below explores which digital trends small to medium sized businesses should focus on this year.

]]>https://startupnation.com/grow-your-business/digital-marketing-trends-infographic/feed/0Mobile Marketing Guide For Entrepreneurshttps://startupnation.com/grow-your-business/mobile-marketing-guide-for-entrepreneurs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mobile-marketing-guide-for-entrepreneurs
https://startupnation.com/grow-your-business/mobile-marketing-guide-for-entrepreneurs/#commentsFri, 01 Apr 2016 14:26:23 +0000https://startupnation.com/?p=20758In the marketing world, all roads lead to mobile. Ericsson predicts there will be 6.1 billion mobile users by 2020, up from 2.6 billion users in 2015. It’s clear that any business that wants to have a successful marketing campaign must also be aware of mobile’s possibilities. Here are some tips on how to get...

In the marketing world, all roads lead to mobile. Ericsson predicts there will be 6.1 billion mobile users by 2020, up from 2.6 billion users in 2015. It’s clear that any business that wants to have a successful marketing campaign must also be aware of mobile’s possibilities.

Here are some tips on how to get the most out of mobile marketing for your business or startup:

Optimize for Mobile

More people are now using mobile to access the internet than desktop, and the scales are likely to continue tipping towards mobile. Which is why Google has recently included mobile in its ranking signals and why cofounder Larry Page has advised staff members in his engineering and product management departments to dedicate a day a week working only from their mobiles.

As the world goes mobile, businesses have no choice but to provide seamless mobile experiences to customers. Those who fail to do so will lose out to competitors who have optimized. Optimizing for mobile reduces bounce rates, improves customer experience and increases revenues.

Invest In A Text Marketing Campaign

Text marketing is definitely having its day in the sun. With texts boasting open rates of 98 percent (as compared to email’s 22 percent open rate), there’s not really much math to do here. If you want someone to read your message, send a text. Check out this case study of Intellixis, a data analytics and management company, if you need convincing.

Jorge Guillen, Intellixis Senior Developer, said that, “Text messaging services is the response to our need to serve our clients the way they expect to be served, and that is: fast, concise, and primarily ready available.” And the increased revenues and customer satisfaction rates aren’t bad either.

Integrate Across All Media

When you run an SMS marketing campaign, make it pay off by integrating it with your mobile app, email, newsletters, in-store signage, radio and television ads, social networks, kiosks, leaflets, and any other marketing media you’re using. The potential gains from mobile marketing are huge, so take advantage of it and go all the way when advertising it. The more you integrate these advertising methods, the more effective each of them will be in bringing in new clients, maintaining existing clients and increasing revenue.

Pay Attention To Content

Everyone who’s an expert in marketing says it, but it bears repeating one more time: content is king. The majority of your marketing is in written form, whether it’s navigating your mobile app’s landing page or receiving text messages about events and promotions. The more effort you put into creating a voice for your brand and offering unique and valuable content, the more successful your marketing will be:

Show your brand’s personality. Try not to sound like a robot or an academic wrote your content. Consider the core message and the demographics of your clients when creating a voice that speaks for your company.

Be brief. You won’t have as much room to blabber on in a mobile app as you would on a desktop accessed site. Edit your content to squeeze the essence out of your message in as few words as possible.

Spotlight on value. What can the user get out of your brand? Make that your focus.

Good content inspires trust in your brand and encourages customers to share it with others.

Video, Video, Video

By the end of 2014, mobile video accounted for a whopping 55 percent of mobile data use. There are lots of reasons why video and mobile are made for each other. Mobile screens are small, making it hard for some users to spend a lot of time reading long stretches of text (see “Pay attention to content” above). So, say it with a video. Vine, Snapchat and Instagram all offer popular platforms for short-form video while Facebook and YouTube top the networks for long-form video.

Call-to-Action = Conversions

Don’t just tell the client how to reach you on your mobile site, include a button that allows them to call or send an email. Don’t just tell them there’s a sale in your text message, include a link to a discount code they can present to the salesclerk when they arrive.

The more you allow your clients to “Call now,” “Send a message,” “Talk to a live agent,” “Sign up,” “Share,” “Reply,” “See a map,” “RSVP,” and “Buy now,” the easier you make it for them to reach out to you and have a positive experience with your brand. Make their interactions with you easy, convenient and seamless by providing them buttons that will allow them easy access to you and your product. Check out these call-to-action masters for some inspiration.

The more you integrate mobile into your marketing strategy, the higher your conversions and revenues. With retail mobile use growing at a much more rapid rate than PC, your customers are paying attention to mobile. You should be, too.

]]>https://startupnation.com/grow-your-business/mobile-marketing-guide-for-entrepreneurs/feed/2What Do Women Think Of Your Mobile Ads?https://startupnation.com/grow-your-business/women-think-mobile-ads/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=women-think-mobile-ads
Thu, 02 Oct 2014 19:15:17 +0000http://www.startupnation.com/?post_type=articles&p=12486Finding the perfect formula for mobile ad delivery to women is challenging, according to a survey by IAB and Meredith's MXM agency of 100 women who shared screen shots of the mobile ads they were seeing. Many respondents said ads get in the way of the quick mobile tasks they want to perform, but the women did have a positive response to ads that had specific relevance to them in real time.

Even the IAB, that relentlessly perky (unless the FCC/FTC is involved) cheerleader of any and all your ad formats and technologies, had to admit “it’s a challenge to find consistent mobile advertising success stories” from the women they asked recently.

Partnering with Meredith’s MXM agency and its Real Women Talking Community, late last year they set out to get real women’s responses to mobile advertising. About 100 women were asked about their interactions to mobile ads and also asked to provide screenshots of ads the were seeing.

We can cut to the chase. A lot of these ads are misfiring or just not connecting with women.

First of all, many in this focus group complained that the only good thing about banner ads on mobile phones is that they are easily ignored or swept out of the way. One woman got to the real point about the disconnect of standard interruptive advertising on phones. “When I’m on my phone, I’m needing to do something quickly and [ads] can get in the way.”

Another respondent commented that many mobile ads just fail technically or fill the screen at the wrong time. She blames the advertiser and gets a negative impression of the brand.

They want real relevance, and often seem willing to excuse interruptions if the ad is creative and genuinely targeted to either their interests or their current context. One woman sent in a full-screen ad for healthy carrot juice that got to her after a 10K run. Interestingly, several women seemed to reward mobile ads, even full-pagers, that engaged them with very simple visual messages or clear options.

A very colorful Maybelline ad that preceded a solitaire round was welcomed by one woman because it was visually pleasant and gave her a couple of choices to drill further or dismiss. A Groupon spot just had a few luscious sushi on a velvet black background.

There is nothing especially earth-shaking or new in these observations, except that they are given the added weight of coming from consumers rather than ourselves. You need to get noticed and to do so outside the usual banner format. But you need to do it in a creative and highly relevant way that diffuses frustration with interrupting her. Relevance cuts several ways on mobile. It is not just targeting a person, but also a context. What is this mobile user doing now and trying to achieve when on her device?

But I am struck especially by how these women called up ads that were simple in message, uncluttered, and visually lush. Mobile display ads of all sorts are starting to look too much like shrunken Web ads. As publishers, ad nets and advertisers desperately try to follow the mobile migration they are treating devices too much like the Web and struggling to stuff too much information into those units.

One of the things I don’t see enough of are ads that recognize the user probably doesn’t want to see the message right now but may be willing to engage later.

The task-driven nature of most of our mobile sessions would seem to invite ad formats that let us defer our attending them until later. Maybe we should consider in-ad options for emailing information to yourself, pinning an ad to your home page or bookmark? After all, publishers discovered long ago that people use their phones often to triage content for later consideration on other screens. Shouldn’t ads let us triage them too? Read below for the top 5 Mobile Advertising Core Principles.

]]>23 of the Best Smartphone Apps for Businesses and Funhttps://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/23-of-the-best-smartphone-apps-for-businesses-and-fun/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=23-of-the-best-smartphone-apps-for-businesses-and-fun
https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/23-of-the-best-smartphone-apps-for-businesses-and-fun/#commentsTue, 21 Feb 2012 01:06:41 +0000http://www.startupnation.com/business-blogs/?p=5067If you are like me, your smartphone has become your window to the world, both for your personal life and for your business. I have had both and Android phone and an iPhone and I have to say I liked them both! In fact I have to admit I liked my Android phone a little...

If you are like me, your smartphone has become your window to the world, both for your personal life and for your business. I have had both and Android phone and an iPhone and I have to say I liked them both! In fact I have to admit I liked my Android phone a little more because of the built in GPS navigation. In any case, once you have a smart phone, you won’t go back to the regular phone again because the apps are helpful, convenient, and fun!!

I use my smart phone all of the time and I’m always looking for new apps. Here are 23 of my favorites. Will you take the time to share some of yours?

Square– This app lets customers square-up with you in a fast and easy fashion by processing any major credit card via swipe from your smartphone. The company charges a flat fee for every transaction, deposits money directly to your bank account the next day, provides a free card reader, and works on your iPhone, iPad, or Android phone.

Evernote – This got-to-have app lets you record notes, snap pictures, clip webpages, collaborate with clients or co-workers, and keep it all organized, synchronized, and accessible from any device. A must-have for business people on the go. Available for all major platforms.

Mapquest– The MapQuest App is your free GPS, providing turn by turn directions on both the iPhone and Android platform. There is now an option for businesses to get listed for free.

Where This app from the makers of PayPal lets you and your customers find local businesses, get information about deals at local businesses, get recommendations on local businesses, and share your recommendations and favorites with your friends.

Hindenburg Field Recorder) This app puts the power of professional audio recording in your hands and lets you capture a client interview, podcast, or other voice recording with one touch of your finger. Only available on iPhone and iPad.

Dragon Dictation – This app provides easy-to-use speech recognition technology that instantly types as you speak. Great for business owners on the go who need to record a blog post while on the train or capture notes from a customer meeting while driving back to the office. Available for iPhone, iPad, and iTouch.

Group Text! – Now you can create distribution lists and send text messages to select groups of people at the same time without having to enter each individual contact. Available for the iPhone.

iTunes GarageBand) – This app, available on your iPhone or iPad, lets you create your own podcasts and makes it easy to add music and other elements to the recording.

Instagram – This iPhone app allows you to take photos, edit them on your phone, and share them with your customers, clients, or social network no matter where you are.

Meeting Map – This handy app lets you record the names and locations of people attending a meeting to help you remember who was there and where they were sitting. Perfect for business owners who attend networking events or client meetings. Available on the iPhone and iPad.

Minibooks by Freshbooks – Put the power of Freshbooks in the palm of your hand with the Minibooks app for the iPhone and iPad. You can track your time and invoice clients while you are out and about and on the road.

Scan Biz Cards – This app is great for business owners who network or interact with lots of new people. Unlike other business card scanning apps, ScanBizCards offers additional functions like sending automatic intro emails and setting calendar reminders for following up. Available on iPhone and Android platforms.

Things – This app makes it easy to keep track of your to-do list while you are getting things done. Available for the iPhone.

BasecampHQ, – Although this app isn’t a mobile app, it is accessible via the browser on your phone and makes the powerful project management tools of BaseCamp available wherever and whenever you need them.

Summit – The simplified mobile access point for BaseCamp that makes it easy to manage all your to do lists, milestones, and projects from your iPhone.

Capsule – Capsule is a CRM application that you can use to track customers, manage customer communications, and stay on top of everything that needs to be done. Works on all three smartphone platforms.

Line2 – Turn your iPad into a mobile communication station with this app and never miss an important phone call again. Great for mobile business owners.

Track My Mileage Easiest way to keep track of your business mileage. Love this app!

SoundHound Don’t know the artist or the name of a song that’s playing? SoundHound does!

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas, grab a free e-book called “Build Buzz for Your Biz, 23 Creative and Inexpensive Marketing Strategies That Will Get You Noticed” at http://23kazoos.com.

Wendy Kenney is the bestselling author of How to Build Buzz for Your Business available on Amazon.com, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsday.

]]>https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/23-of-the-best-smartphone-apps-for-businesses-and-fun/feed/30QR Codes in Marketing- Is it Right for Your Business?https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/qr-codes-in-marketing-is-it-right-for-your-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=qr-codes-in-marketing-is-it-right-for-your-business
https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/qr-codes-in-marketing-is-it-right-for-your-business/#respondSun, 23 Oct 2011 22:53:06 +0000http://www.startupnation.com/business-blogs/?p=5012There is a lot of buzz about how QR codes are the latest and greatest marketing thing for small business. According to a study by Mobio Identity Systems, the number of QR code scans increased by 4549% in the US in one year. But for some small business owners, this might feel like just one more thing...

There is a lot of buzz about how QR codes are the latest and greatest marketing thing for small business. According to a study by Mobio Identity Systems, the number of QR code scans increased by 4549% in the US in one year. But for some small business owners, this might feel like just one more thing to add to their already crowded world of running a business. So the question is; why should we adopt QR codes in our marketing? Or should we just wait and see? The answer is; it depends.

QR codes (or Quick Response codes) are similar to the UPC codes on the back of product packaging. Just like when the grocer scans your groceries in your shopping cart, so can businesses owners use a scannable QR code in their marketing. Consumers with smartphones (such as iPhone, Android, or Blackberry) can download a free bar code scanner application so that they can scan the code. Once a consumer scans the code, it will give them additional information about the product such as price, for example. A QR code would work in an instance where a consumer would want more information about a product but where there was not space on the package to print that additional information.

As with any marketing strategy, the first step is to decide if using a QR code marketing campaign makes sense for your business. Although most scans are generated from QR codes on product packaging, there are many ways these codes can be used to bring in more business. Understanding how QR codes can benefit your business is the key to deciding if they are a good fit.

In order to help you decide, here are 6 interesting ways businesses are using QR codes to enhance customer engagement, distribute information, and invite new prospects into their business.

1. QR Codes on Business Cards and Products

The most popular way to use QR codes is to put them on your business card. The QR code then takes the person scanning it to your website where they can find out more about your products and services. However, businesses also use QR codes to link customers to specific product information without having to print it and distribute it with the product. For example, a plant nursery might use a QR code sticker attached to plant’s packaging to link customers to planting and care instructions specific to their climate.

2. Expand Selling Opportunities

Most businesses are not open 24/7, but even those who aren’t may have an online store where customers can shop at their convenience. Posting a QR Code and the words “Shop Online Now” next to the opening hours in your shop window gives customers the opportunity to buy from you when they are looking for you, regardless of whether or not you are open. For crafters and other companies who vend at local events, a QR code on your product label can help you build repeat customers who may not remember where they made their initial purchase or know where to find you to make additional purchases.

3. Link to Customer Centric Content

Imagine you are shopping for a new lawnmower and as you browse the selection at your local home improvement store you are able to access independent customer reviews for each product with a quick scan on your phone. Companies can use QR codes within their displays to link to customer review sites, how to videos, replacement part information, or discounts.

4. Give Prospects The Information They Want When They Want It

One powerful use of QR codes is to enable prospective customers to access the information they want when they want it. Real estate agents can use QR codes on their “For Sale” signs to offer prospects a virtual tour of the house as well as other selling information. The QR code software has the ability to record the contact information of the person who clicked on it, therefore giving the real estate agent a new prospect to follow up with.

5. Host a Contest or Give a Special Discount

Because QR codes are new and interesting, businesses can use them to drive people to their business. One idea is to host a QR code scavenger hunt where customers have the opportunity to win something by clicking on QR codes to find the clue to the next code. QR codes on posters or on direct mail items can give customers access to exclusive discounts or enable them to enter a contest at just a click of their phone. Businesses can put QR codes on event posters, advertisements and invitations to deliver people event information and special offers for discounted admission.

There are hundreds of ways that businesses can use QR codes to bring in business and build their brand. The key is to find the right opportunity that makes sense for your business. Whether you use it to build online sales or to broadcast the word about a new product, strategic use of QR codes can supplement your other marketing activities and have the potential to provide significant returns with a very small investment.

6. Use QR Codes to Simplify Registration and Follow-up

Infusionsoft used QR codes to simplify the registration process at their annual event Infusioncon. Instead of having attendees wait in line at the registration table while an attendant searches for their name and badge, Infusionsoft emailed each registrant a printable ticket with a QR code on it. Attendees were instructed to bring the ticket with them for admittance into the event. Once at the event the QR code was scanned at the registration table and the attendee quickly admitted. The QR code was linked to the attendee email information so that Infusionsoft could email the attendee specific event related offers during and after the event.

As you can see from the examples above, using QR codes can be a low cost marketing strategy that can generate significant results. However, before you begin to use them, decide if it will make sense for your business. Ask the questions: Do my customers use smart phones? Do they understand QR code technology? Are they always asking for more information on a product or service?

If you are using a QR code in your marketing, would love to hear about your experience. Let us know in the comments and please leave a link to your business.

Want to get more inexpensive and practical small business marketing ideas? Sign up for my free marketing newsletter at http://23kazoos.com.

]]>https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/qr-codes-in-marketing-is-it-right-for-your-business/feed/09 Unusual Low Cost Marketing Ideas with Extraordinary Resultshttps://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/9-unusual-low-cost-marketing-ideas-with-extraordinary-results/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=9-unusual-low-cost-marketing-ideas-with-extraordinary-results
https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/9-unusual-low-cost-marketing-ideas-with-extraordinary-results/#commentsThu, 01 Sep 2011 08:40:25 +0000http://www.startupnation.com/business-blogs/?p=4982Whether you’re a startup or you’ve been in business a while, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on marketing to get extraordinary results. Here are some usual marketing ideas that reaped extraordinary results from nine business owners across the US. Use their ideas to come up with your own unusual low cost...

Whether you’re a startup or you’ve been in business a while, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on marketing to get extraordinary results. Here are some usual marketing ideas that reaped extraordinary results from nine business owners across the US. Use their ideas to come up with your own unusual low cost marketing ideas.

1. Gone Flyer Crazy!

A friend and I started a free textbook price comparison website during college. This website allows students to search for their class textbooks and find out which online bookstore has the best price on new, used and rental textbooks. Early on, we were limited with how much we could spend on advertising, so we made up 2000 simple flyers. Our target market was college students of course, so we proceeded to plaster the flyers around college campuses in our city anywhere we could. This included bulletin boards, dorms, classrooms, bathroom stall doors, etc. It was working well so we then expanded our efforts and started plastering cars all around campus with flyers under their wipers. We hit each street for blocks surrounding the colleges as well as any parking lots in those areas.

Finally, the thing that really got us a ton of exposure was we took flyers and taped one on the front of every newspaper in every newspaper stand we could find. This worked especially well on campuses as the student newspapers were free which resulted in a huge readership rate. After a few days of posting thousands of flyers on the top of each newspaper in the stand, we did get a complaint from the newspaper and stopped with that particular method. It didn’t matter though, by that time we had increased exposure to our website tremendously and we continued to gain momentum the rest of the year.

I learned early on that getting in front of one client at a time would not build the business fast enough. It was imperative that I get in front of a lot of people quickly, but had little money to spend on marketing. I needed to “think outside the box” and find low cost ways to get the public to know who I am and what I can do for them.

I looked in the yellow pages of area telephone books and went to libraries in the area. I then contacted local clubs and professional organizations that were listed and offered to be a speaker for their meetings. I provided a list of topics I was qualified to speak on as well as a copy of my bio.

I also got very good at media relations, making sure that all local newspapers knew when I would be speaking and whenever possible printed it in. After about six months I found myself speaking on average, once a month to groups from 10 to 100. This enabled me to get in front of a lot of potential clients quickly and build my business at minimal cost to me.

I built my business from scratch to approx. $200 million in assets under management and about 1,200 clients.

We hired several interns to handle different aspects of our business. Specifically we hired a PR and social media intern to handle those areas of our marketing. They helped us with everything from writing press releases to contacting the media . Our social media interns have helped us gain Twitter followers, interacted with Twitter followers, gain more “Likes” on Facebook, interacted with our Facebook followers and even started discussions on LinkedIn where we were able to be “authorities” in the internship field.

The results were spectacular. We’ve landed numerous interviews with the media and bloggers- our biggest interview was with Fortune.com. We’ve gained over 3700 Twitter followers and regularly see Facebook as our top “referring” site in our Google Analytics. We’ve begun to be an “authority” on LinkedIn discussions on all things interns. And we’ve also found partners, affiliates and customers through all of these channels.

My best marketing approach came about when I in the mortgage business and trying to figure out how I could possibly afford to take everyone I wanted to speak with to lunch. The answer was that I couldn’t — but I could still buy a lot of people lunch and make my point with a little creativity.

I bought small bright red gift bags from Wal-Mart (.49 each) that happened to match the red of my company logo. I filled them with bottled water, granola bar, string cheese, candy, crackers, and a small apple, stapled my business card to them, and included a note: “If you’re busy enough to work through lunch, you need this. If you want a mortgage lender who works as hard as you do, you need me.” I delivered them to new companies and they worked like a charm. I was even invited by a few HR departments to do a presentation on home-buying in the community. I brought a couple of trusted Realtors in and cemented my relationships with them too. Each lunch cost me under $3.

Bottom line we live and die with our press releases and PR has totally built this company. We sent some out in the launch of our line and it ended up producing almost everything you see on our website. Just a few magazines, newspapers, and national TV stations picking up your story can change your company overnight as it did ours.

We used our Facebook page to grow our newsletter list. Our newsletter list is our number one sales funnel so it’s important that we are constantly growing it. We’ve grow it completely organically, with no buying of lists whatsoever.

How we did it: We set up what Facebook calls “page like story” ads. These aren’t normal Facebook ads – they actually have no headline and no copy. They just show a user when their friend likes our page, The Dash. You can set a daily allowance so you don’t have to spend oodles and oodles to use this method. We set a low daily limit. We also have our welcome page on Facebook set so that people first sign up for our newsletter and are then taken back to Facebook to “like” us.

Our goals were to further build our brand awareness and “like” count on Facebook but ultimately get those people on our newsletter list.

As a result we went from a few thousand “likers” on Facebook to over 10,000 in a few months. We also added thousands of new names to our email newsletter list (our main funnel for sales).

I started my business just over a year ago as a senior in college (I am 23). Since that time, my company has now become the largest aggregator of student course and textbook information in the country, and we are beginning to grow rapidly across the nation. The press has also been very interested in our work, and we have been featured in the NY Times as well as local CBS and Fox News channels.

We’ve spent minimal dollars marketing the website, and a high portion of our traffic actually comes from Facebook, but not from Facebook ads. We offer fundraisers for student clubs and organizations whereby we pay them small amounts to post status updates or invite their friends to a Facebook event.
Since our website is very unique when it comes to purchasing textbooks, we have found that these methods help word travel virally within a school. For example, at the Claremont Colleges in Southern California, we had about 25% of the student body visit the site in 4 days because it spread virally through Facebook. At UPenn alone, we’ve had almost 500 unique hits as a
result of 2 days using this method.

Jonathan Simkin, SwoopThat.com

8. Scrappy App Marketing

I have a startup called Swayable and an iphone app too. I have a pretty tight budget so have had to be VERY creative with marketing ideas. I wanted to share what I call “scrappy app marketing” Since I have an iPhone application, I figured the best way to get downloads and users to my app was to cross promote in other applications. Well that can be pretty expensive and click through and download rates from my testing were so low that I just wasn’t worth the costs.

So I decided to use appmakr.com and create my own applications that target my audiences. I have a large teen following so I created celebrity news applications ala Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga. And in that application I run inexpensive contest to win swag for that celebrity by using and engaging with Swayable.com I also have the ads within them only cross promote my own products.

Every time I do a push notification to any one of these applications Appmakr does charge a fee, but that’s my only cost and I get much targeted direct access to my potential customers in an application that they love, because I’m presenting them content about a topic they are passionate about.

My goals with this were to simply get more users and more downloads of the Swayable application. In the first 3 months of doing this my traffic tripled each month and continues to grow at increasing rates. I can tell it’s in large part to these efforts based on tracking.

I am now thinking of other audiences I can reach and working on creating apps for this as well.

We leveraged a LinkedIn Group conversation that lent itself to our expertise.

How you did it: Someone in the group asked everyone to list their website. We were able to look at each person’s website from our mobile phones to find out it if it was mobile or not. If it wasn’t, we had a reason to connect with them – an “easy in”.

What your goals were in doing this marketing and what were the results.: At first we thought it was a kind of a one-off idea that may and may not work. But for us, we were happy to get be able to create one mobile website – that was good enough profit for us! We ended up signing one person up for a mobile website but received inquiries from approximately 14 people who were
interested in going mobile, 30 or so who were interested but didn’t have the budget and the remainder simply didn’t respond. All-in-all, it was a success for us – just for branding alone. I think we emailed around 600 people.

Because I think people forget about LinkedIn, this story reminds people to pay attention to conversations going on there that your company can chime in on.

]]>https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/9-unusual-low-cost-marketing-ideas-with-extraordinary-results/feed/2529 of the Best Mobile Coupon Apps for Marketing Your Businesshttps://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/9-of-the-best-mobile-coupon-apps-for-marketing-your-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=9-of-the-best-mobile-coupon-apps-for-marketing-your-business
https://startupnation.com/start-your-business/launch-a-home-business/9-of-the-best-mobile-coupon-apps-for-marketing-your-business/#respondMon, 25 Apr 2011 02:05:53 +0000http://www.startupnation.com/business-blogs/?p=4910Approximately 30% of American mobile phone users have a smart phone and adoption rates are increasing. According to comScore, a digital market intelligence company, it’s estimated that by the end of 2011, that number will have increased to 50%. This represents a huge opportunity to small business owners who have retail locations or who sell...

Approximately 30% of American mobile phone users have a smart phone and adoption rates are increasing. According to comScore, a digital market intelligence company, it’s estimated that by the end of 2011, that number will have increased to 50%. This represents a huge opportunity to small business owners who have retail locations or who sell direct to the consumer.

Mobile phone users are enjoying the convenience and speed of being able to find whatever they want, whenever they want it, right in the palm of their hands.

With that in mind, mobile phone technology is poised to become the next big thing in retail marketing. Mobile marketing experts say that redemption rates of mobile coupons are 10 times higher than redemption rates of printed coupons. However, these statistics will vary based on type of business, and the reach of that particular coupon application in your business area.

There are several ways that you can take advantage of mobile phone marketing and coupons are a good way to start. Here are nine of the top mobile coupon applications that are available on most smart phones.

1. GeoQpons: One of my favorite apps to save money at both local and national businesses. I check it every time I go out. One time I saved 20% on my bill at TGI Fridays. Offers will be displayed to all subscribers within a 10 mile radius. Costs $29 per store location per month. Free for consumers.

2. Foursquare: This popular mobile check in app also allows businesses to post deals. One of the most popular smart phone applications, it appears that this app is also one of the most popular mobile coupon apps. I found many deals in my area. Free to use for both consumer and business.

3. Mobiqpons: This application says that it’s hyper local and displays your ad to any subscriber within a 40 mile radius. Costs .07 per click after the first 100 (free trial). Free for consumers. I plugged this app on my Droid and found several coupons from national companies like Staples and Home Depot, but not any from locally owned businesses.

4. The Coupons App: My least favorite app as a consumer. Coupons are not organized by category and not easy to find. You have to scroll through pages and pages of coupons to find something interesting. There are some local businesses on here. Amazon says this is the best selling shopping app on the Android app store. Your ad shows to subscribers within a 20 mile radius. Costs $149.95 every 90 days. Free version for consumers has limited functionality. $19.95 for consumers to unlock the app for full functionality.

5. Yowza/Where: Yowza is the coupon application for IPhone and Where is the Android version. I like this one because it also shows local gas prices, news, and weather. It’s well organized and easy to navigate. I did not find many coupons in my area.

6. Google Mobile Coupons: Google launched mobile coupons in 2009, but from the looks of it, this application has yet to pick up steam. When I view Google Places on my smart phone, it’s easy to find businesses in my area, but if they are using the coupons function it is hard to tell. Unlike Foursquare, there is no yellow sign that says “Deal here” on the business listing. Also, there is no button or link on Google Places that would indicate there are any deals our coupons. If you can find it and figure out how to use it, it’s free.

7. Facebook Deals: Facebook deals launched several months ago, but whether it’s been a hit is too soon to tell. There are far fewer businesses and deals on Facebook than on Foursquare in my local area. And from what I see, it has been difficult for some users to figure out how to use Facebook deals. If you are a business owner it’s free to use. See my previous post on Facebook deals. As a side note, Facebook is going to be launching its own Groupon type deals feature. http://www.facebook.com/deals/business/

8. Yelp Special Offers: Yelp is one of the most widely used reviews websites in the nation, and with the additions of the special offers tab the website just got better. The application is free for smart phone users to download and there is an easy to find “Special Offers” tab. Contact Yelp, to confirm the cost of running an offer in your area.

9. Valpak Mobile Coupons: Valpak a leader in the direct mail marketing industry has launched a mobile coupon application. Coupons are hyper local and used mostly by independent local businesses more than chains. Good application if you’re a local pizza place who is already using the direct mail option. Price varies.